Thursday, July 31, 2008

The first time a state legislative panel has gone this far in carrying out a statutory process for closing a state facility isn’t a pretty one. Whether intended or not, one Illinois town has been pitted against another after Gov. Rod Blagojevich in June proposed moving about 140 Illinois Department of Transportation positions from Springfield three hours south to Harrisburg.

It was easy to see the tension during a lengthy public hearing in the state Capitol building Thursday night. A packed committee room literally was divided. Harrisburg residents sat on one side in purple T-shirts encouraging people to visit the southern Illinois town. Springfield state employees sat on the other side in lime green T-shirts saying the move is the “wrong way.” More supporters and opponents overflowed to the floor below, where they sat in folding chairs lined up in two more hallways and watched the committee hearing on giant screens.

The dilemma facing the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, the panel overseeing the process, is muddled. Facts have been complemented, and sometimes contradicted, by politics and emotions in the past few months.

Union-backed employees repeatedly have shared personal stories, including having to leave a grandmother with Alzheimer’s disease in a nursing home, forcing a teen-age son who lives between his mother’s and father’s homes to decide between the two and challenging people with disabilities who have support networks and medical experts in Springfield. The governor's office has said employees can choose to stay in Springfield and take jobs with equal pay and equal benefits, although the employees are skeptical.

Harrisburg officials said they feel left out and overshadowed by Springfield. “We’re depressed, not stupid,” said Harrisburg Mayor Valerie Mitchell.

They’re both victims, one set to lose either way. The motivation behind the move is the most contentious point, particularly whether the idea is rooted in economics or in politics.

GOP legislators representing the Springfield area allege the governor’s proposal was retribution for supporting a measure that would allow voters to recall elected officials, a measure perceived to be directed at the governor. Local officials list various state-owned facilities in Springfield that have space and could house the division. “We can move them a block or two and not 200 miles,” said Rep. Raymond Poe, a Springfield Republican, during the hearing.

The administration refutes the allegation and says the move is intended to give a boost to an economically depressed area of the state.

Sen. Christine Radogno, a Lemot Republican, said this proposal fails to consider economic development through private investment or tourism funding. Having spent the morning in Chicago at a leaders’ meeting about a statewide capital plan that would encourage such development, Radogno said during the hearing: “Guess what. It ain’t happening. It is so dysfunctional, the governance of this state, that we’re reduced to talking about economic development in terms of moving jobs around.”

“I want to help you,” she said to local Harrisburg officials, “but I’m not sure that, just again, moving government jobs around should satisfy us that we’re doing adequate economic development. That’s not economic development.”

Secretary of Transportation Milton Sees testified that it all started because of the need to replace old carpet nearly two years ago. Rather than continue to pay for an expensive lease to a California owner to house the Division of Traffic Safety, the department looked for ways to save money once the lease expired. Shortly after, Sees said the governor directed him to find a division that could serve in a stand-alone facility and relocate to an economically depressed area of the state. The focus shifted from finding space in Springfield to determining whether the Division of Traffic Safety could relocate to southern Illinois, eventually leading to Harrisburg. “They are starving for jobs, literally,” Sees said.

The transportation department already signed a contract to purchase space in the Harrisburg facility for $812,000, using money from the state’s dedicated Road Fund. IDOT’s chief counsel Ellen Schanzle-Haskins added that the department could break that lease at any time with five day’s notice. She also said the purchase is frozen until after the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability issues a recommendation, due September 11. The recommendation, however, is not binding. The governor could move the positions, anyway.

Illinois is closing out July in style and gearing up for more politics in August. The same day Gov. Rod Blagojevich unveiled a “compromise” capital plan to fund road and school construction projects throughout the state, his office was sued along with Senate President Emil Jones Jr.’s office for not releasing budget-related details. And the governor’s idea to transfer nearly 150 positions from Springfield three hours south to Harrisburg is the subject of hours of testimony opposing the idea, although southern Illinois folks like the idea of an economic boost. (More on that in the next post.) And after all that in one day, the condition of state government is unlikely to change any time soon.

I write “compromise” in quotes because there’s no deal on the capital plan without all parties on board. Although the governor’s office made a gesture to compromise by getting rid of the revenue source that House Speaker Michael Madigan ruled out — expanded gaming — it’s clear that the governor’s revised proposal still lacks support from House Democrats. The new version reduces the spending amount from $34 billion to $25 billion. So, yes, the casino-less proposal satisfies three of four caucuses, but those three caucuses were on board in the first place.

House Democrats’ concerns about the first plan still stand. Most prominently, they still don’t trust the governor to fairly distribute the capital funds. House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat who represented the speaker in today’s meeting and in previous leaders’ meetings, reiterated Madigan’s stance: House Democrats won’t get on board unless the spending side of the capital plan is crystal clear. Steve Brown, Madigan’s spokesman, said specific line items are an “absolute requirement.” In an e-mail after the meeting, Currie echoed: “Assuming we could reach agreement on the revenue side — a big assumption — we would definitely want line-item allocations and some way to guarantee that dollars allocated are actually spent.”

Her kicker: “So I think we continue to be on a very steep uphill climb.”

The governor’s revised revenue ideas still lack consensus. House Democrats repeatedly have questioned the wisdom of the first revenue source: selling off all or part of the Illinois Lottery to the private sector. The state asset generates money for public education and has been estimated to be worth more than $10 billion, leading some to question why the state would sell it rather than revamp it and maximize its value. Proponents say the private sector could be more efficient and aggressive in managing the lottery’s potential.

Currie said, however, that privatization also could negate the original intent and appeal. “The lottery was originally sold as a way to help education, so buying a losing lottery ticket still helped the kids. Take away education, and people may feel they’ve been bamboozled.”

The governor’s proposal does include a “lockbox” for capital investments and lottery proceeds for education. And supporters of the lottery lease say the upfront cash and the ongoing state share of the profits would ensure that public schools would receive at least the same amount under the public-private partnership.

The other funding idea includes transferring higher-than-expected revenues from two state taxes, the motor fuel tax that goes into a dedicated Road Fund and the sales tax on gasoline that goes into the general revenue fund. Currie said her caucus could consider using “excess” revenues from the motor fuel tax (a.k.a. Road Fund) if the administration proves that the money would go directly to capital construction projects. Transferring excess revenues from the state sales tax on gasoline (a.k.a. general revenue fund) is a different story. “Diversions from GRF — which, essentially, is what taking gasoline sales taxes really is — could be a very tough sell,” Currie said. Without support from House Democrats, a capital plan is unlikely to advance.

The Illinois Chapter of Americans for Prosperity based in Chicago and Judicial Watch Inc. based in Washington, D.C., filed suit in Sangamon County. They allege that both offices repeatedly denied requests under the Freedom of Information Act to release information about how a lump sum of $1.7 billion was spent in fiscal year 2008. In a Statehouse news conference Thursday, the two groups justified their suit by citing newspaper reports about questionable grants doled out by individual legislators. They’re asking the court to require Blagojevich and Jones to release information about specific uses of the money.

They’re targeting so-called member initiatives that distribute state grants to local nonprofits or units of local government, and so on, and the grants aren’t subject to competitive bidding processes or to legislative debates. Projects often are lumped together in a single dollar amount and lack specific descriptions of how that money would be used.

Jones’ office says its attorneys are reviewing the suit and don’t have a comment. I’m still waiting for a response from the governor’s office.

Joe Calomino, director of the Illinois Chapter of Americans for Prosperity, said the group did not sue House Democrats or Republicans because they released detailed information about money issued for member initiatives.

The group, which publishes an online blog called Pork Report, also is behind legislation that would create a Web site to track all money spent on all districts, all state contracts, all state employees and all tax credits to improve government transparency. It was intended to serve as a one-stop shop for taxpayers. The measure was unanimously approved by the House but stalled in the Senate.

A couple of years ago, reports in the Tribune, Crain's, and the State Journal Register linked five bundled donations to Gov. Blagojevich's campaign with the All Kids health insurance program and the contract to manage it. New reports out today suggest that pattern may be repeating itself, this time in Florida.

Today's news report indicates that WellCare is "the biggest campaign contributor to Republican state House candidate Will Pruitt " and that "Pruitt received 20 separate $500 contributions, the limit for individual contributions, from WellCare Health Plans Inc. and its subsidiaries: WCG Health Management, Comprehensive Logistics, Comprehensive Health and Healthease."

If that sounds familiar, it should. On Nov. 21, 2005, WellCare made 5 separate $20,000 donations to Gov. Blagojevich's campaign. Those donations, made through subsidiaries including WellCare Health Plans Inc and WCG Health Management, came less than a week after the Governor signed into law his All Kids insurance program.

WellCare also hired Blagojevich protégé John Wyma in August of 2005; in January, 2006, another WellCare subsidiary, Harmony Health Care, hired Wyma, and has retained Wyma ever since.

At the time they hired Wyma and made the $100K in donations to the governor's campaign fund, Harmony Health Care held a $99M contract with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. That contract grew to $110M n FY07, $150M in FY08, and $162M in the current fiscal year. That's almost a two-thirds increase in their contract value in just three short years.

There may be more. According to Forbes, WellCare is under investigation by the FBI for possible Medicare fraud in Florida and Illinois. The company has acknowledged errors in both states.

Is there a pattern of bundling donations through subsidiaries to win state contracts? Either way, it's time to cut the connection between campaign money and state contracts.

With a hat-tip to Newsalert. The Sun-Times lists the campaign fund totals of all Chicago aldermen. Ranging from between $8 Million to $0. The man on top is Ald. Ed Burke of the 14th.

Last year when I covered the municipal elections on my own blog, I noted in this post at that time...

Why does Burke have over $6.5 million in his campaign fund when he doesn't even have an opponent?

Ultimately he did have an opponent whom he failed to keep off the ballot and that election turned into what might referred to in wrestling as a "sqaush" match. That race was incredibly one sided.

Still I have to wonder why should an alderman have $8 million in their campaign fund? I suppose for a local office even in a city the size of Chicago to be able to either win or hold a seat shouldn't require that much money, unless we go back to that post at Newsalert...

Very interesting.With $8 million that substantially more money than Mayor Daley's got. Alderman Burke has never had a real campaign opponent. Why would so many connected individuals contribute money to a single Alderman? Here is the proof that Ed Burke is the real boss of The Chicago Democratic Machine. He slates the judges and controls Chicago's tax code. Burke passes out the money and it appears many people want to give him some money.

So all that money has little to do with his position as an alderman. Perhaps it might be his role as the chair of the city council finance committee? Perhaps it might be related to his role as a Democratic committeeman?
Read more...

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I finally got a chance to take a look at the new McCain attack ad that plays on the celebrity status of Barack in an attempt to convey a 'more sizzle than steak' image of our Democratic nominee. Something struck me as especially odd about the piece, but I had to watch it a few times to get at what it was. If you haven't seen it, watch it now and see if anything comes to mind.

It finally dawned on me as if I was hit upside the head with some schnitzel. Despite the gratuitous images of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, it is another celebrity altogether with whom the ad attempts to link Obama.

The opening of the piece - the chanting German crowds, the camera angles, all of it - looked like an updated version of old Hitler newsreel footage. Watch it a couple of times and you realize (at least I do) that this is no coincidence. On its surface, the ad is a routine 'don't believe the hype' piece. But the real subtext of this commercial is to implant a 'cult of personality' message by shamelessly invoking Nazi parallels.

I'll admit to having reservations about my belief that McCain supporters would stoop to such a tactic, but my doubts were quickly allayed when I did a search on the Google for 'Obama Hitler'. It took all of .19 seconds to find a slew of results including this gem by a writer for the National Review. In whining about the fact that McCain simply can't get any attention from the media, she talked about how much attention Barack's acceptance speech at the convention will likely generate. Apparently having no rational way of trying to make a point, she blurts out:

To me, this is evocative of something Leni Riefenstahl might have documented.

For those who miss the somewhat obscure, and inflammatory, reference, Leni Riefenstahl was, among many other things, the cinematographer of the Nazi propaganda film "Triumph of the Will", a film that purely coincidentally contains the rally footage from the 1934 Nuremburg Congress that was evoked by my watching the McCain ad.

But don't think that the vitriol is is limited to your Republican media outlets. Continuing this year's wacky pastor parade comes Pastor James David Manning, who crosses the line of reason and decency by such lengths that the line is just a blur in the rearview mirror of his crazymobile.

You have got to watch this one to believe it.

The fact that one can find so many variants of this message is simply beyond the pale. And given that they're playing the Hitler card and it is only July, who knows what else they'll trot out between now and November. (Can you imagine if they find out about Barack's '666' birthmark?)

But keep in mind, that even in a Presidential campaign, Godwin's Law still applies. And under Godwin's Law, McCain's a loser.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform urges legislative leaders to insist Gov. Blagojevich accept limitations on pay-to-play contracting as part of any new multibillion-dollar capital plan.

Gov. Blagojevich has called legislative leaders to a meeting Thursday to negotiate a capital construction program, reportedly in the range of $20 billion to $34 billion.

“House Bill 824, now sitting on the governor’s desk, would ban businesses with state contracts from making campaign contributions to the officeholder awarding the contract,” said Cynthia Canary, Director of ICPR. “The governor should sign HB 824 and give the public some confidence the billions of dollars in news spending would be done fairly and would not be directed at the wallets of the businesses contributing to his campaign fund.”

In the first 30 days after the General Assembly passed HB 824, the governor’s campaign committee actively solicited contributions from businesses with state contracts and collected at least $250,000 from state contractors in that short period of time, according to a Chicago Tribune investigation.

“The governor claims he wants billions in new infrastructure spending to create jobs and to guard against a bridge collapse as happened in Minneapolis last year,” Canary said. “But after years of headlines about contracts that look more like pay-to-play than legitimate state business, taxpayers have to wonder whether his top concern is bridge safety or building up his campaign treasury.

“If he would sign the bill to discourage pay-to-play and stop soliciting money from people doing business with the state, he would give the public reason to believe those new construction dollars would be spent fairly,” she said. “Legislative leaders should insist HB 824 is signed into law before giving the governor the ability to award billions in new spending for bridges, roads, and other projects.”

Illinois campaign finance disclosure reports tell who gave how much to whom, and when, but they don't tell why. And “why” is the most interesting question. For Today's Trib story, reporters John Chase and David Kidwell called some donors – all with state contracts -- and asked that question. Some of the answers were surprisingly candid.

One contractor with more than $40 million in road construction contracts said he wished Gov. Blagojevich would sign pending legislation prohibiting contributions by contractors: "I'd like to see it signed because it will save me money. We won't have to contribute anything. I wouldn't even have to entertain the idea of supporting him . . . or her or anyone."

The legislation aimed at pay-to-play politics (House Bill 824) has been sitting on the governor's desk for 30 days. During those 30 days, the Blagojevich campaign committee has collected “more than a quarter of a million dollars from people who do business with the state,” according to that same Tribune story by Chase and Kidwell.

The governor has another month to go before he acts on HB 824, but he may be more interested in a different deadline – January 1, 2009. That’s the effective date of HB 824, if it becomes law with his signature or an override of his veto. He has at least five more months to ask state contractors for campaign contributions and five more months for reporters to ask state contractors why they give. All the more reason to urge him to sign it now , without making any changes.

It also is worth noting that very few people currently give to Illinois state politicians. A few years ago, we estimated the number of donors who give large donation -- $10,000 or more -- at less than one half of one tenth of one percent of all people in Illinois. That tiny pool of donors accounts for most of the money raised by candidates for state office. But why do they give?

ABC7-- Republican National Committee creates Obama Facebook site - Ben Bradleyhttp://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/politics&id=6295387 (Includes video clip)(FROM THE ARTICLE: "I think a lot of Americans don't know a lot about Barack Obama, and legitimately, the Republican National Committee is getting the information out," said Pat Brady, Sen. John McCain's campaign deputy co-chair. Among those listed as "friends" on Obama's fake Barackbook page is convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko. Click on his name and viewers are told that Rezko was among Obama's first political supporters and that Rezko sold Obama a piece of land next to his Hyde Park home. Another click in the friend column, and you'll find an unflattering mug shot of William Ayers, the 60's radical-turned-distinguished professor, who Obama has said is just a casual acquaintance. "There's nothing new here. It's stuff people have known for a long time -- probably some information in there they don't want to be on the Web," Brady said. "Apparently, John McCain picked up on the Internet about as quickly as he picked up on the fact that the economy is going south and the war in Iraq is a complete blunder," said Alexi Giannoulias, (D) Illinois Treasurer. Giannoulias said he is proud to call himself a friend of Barack Obama but isn't thrilled about seeing himself in the "friends" column along with old stories about questionable loans he made before being elected. "They're trying to throw everything they can against the wall and see what sticks," said Giannoulias. "What they're trying to do is an overall strategy to make Obama look like another Chicago politician -- though somewhat different in who he is but not what he is," said Paul Green, political analyst.)-- OUTRAGEOUS: Sharpton defends Jackson - APhttp://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/politics&id=6295022NBC5-- 'Price Is Right' Host Urges Support For Pet Sterilization Ordinancehttp://www.nbc5.com/news/17031072/detail.html?dl=mainclick (Includes video clip)(DIERSEN: I delivered mail for the Park Forest Post Office 1966-1969.)CBS2-- DIERSEN: Needless-to-say, McCain should promise to cut off all federal funds for Chicago if Chicago does not stop promoting illegal immigrationhttp://cbs2chicago.com/politics/immigrant.rights.hearing.2.783169.html(FROM THE ARTICLE: The hearings are being praised by immigrant rights activists nationwide who have long watched Chicago's approach to immigrants. "It's always been seen as a place that's been more open and friendly to immigrants," said Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles and former Chicago immigration activist. "This particular announcement is a further step in making immigrants feel that their rights are going to be protected." Chicago, which was declared a sanctuary to immigrants in 1989, has had the highest participation nationwide in annual immigrant rights rallies. In 2006, more than 400,000 marched in the streets and Mayor Richard Daley addressed the crowd. Last year, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sponsored the failed DREAM Act, a bill designed to facilitate citizenship for young illegal immigrants who planned to attend college or join the military.)-- Bob Barker Lobbies Council For Pet Neutering Law Barker Says The Movement Is Sweeping The Countryhttp://cbs2chicago.com/local/bob.barker.pets.2.783053.html (Includes video clip)

THE HILL & DENVER POST-- DIERSEN: IF I WERE A HISPANIC, I WOULD TELL OBAMA TO TAKE HIS $20 MILLION RACE BAIT MONEY AND STICK IT: Allen: Hispanics embrace Obama’s $20 million outreach & Mulkem: Dems pursue Latino voteshttp://thehill.com/campaign-2008/hispanics-embrace-obamas-20-million-outreach-2008-07-29.htmlhttp://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_10036444GOPUSA ILLINOIS-- If anyone from the Wheaton area is attending the McCain Town Hall Meeting in Racine tomorrow, Thursday, July 31, please let me know at diersen@aol.com or 630-653-0462 - Dave Diersenwww.gopillinois.com-- OUTSTANDING: Wheaton League of Women Voters proposal fails - Dave Diersenwww.gopillinois.com(THE ARTICLE: Happily, the Wheaton League of Women Voters motion for a "study to consider the establishment of a U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence" failed at the June 13-18 biennial LWV meeting in Portland, Oregon. Sadly, obviously, individuals, organizations, and countries that want to harm if not destroy America favor the proposal. If America is destroyed, which individuals, organizations, and countries will protect the LWV?)

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Based on narcotics being left in the house after his mother died, Dave Bachmann, Democratic Party candidate for McHenry County Coroner. came up with the idea that deputy coroners could pick up unused pills after people passed away. (Some are outright illegal to possess after a patient’s death.)

He floated this idea on McHenry County Blog last September.

Since then, the Fox Rive Grove Police have started the practice and the Chicago Tribune had an article by Ray Hood on the idea last Thursday.

The headline:

To avoid water contamination, officials hold medicine-collection drivesFlushing old pills no longer considered safe

“On Saturday, Cook County will hold its first medicine collection drive in the south suburb of Midlothian, joining Will, Kendall and other counties in the Chicago region in providing a safe way for residents to toss out their old prescription drugs,” the story said.

Continuing,

“Chicago officials reacted swiftly in April after testing performed for the Chicago Tribune showed trace amounts of many common household medicines in the water supply, which serves 7 million people in the city and suburbs.”

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